Mokala National Park

Mokala National Park is a reserve established in the Plooysburg area south-west of Kimberley in the Northern Cape, South Africa on 19 June 2007. The size of the park is 26,485 hectares. Mokala is the Setswana name for the magnificent camel thorn, a tree species typical of the arid western interior and common in the area. There is currently 70 km of accessible roads in the national park.

History

The new park effectively replaces the Vaalbos National Park 28°34′S 24°18′E / 28.567°S 24.300°E / -28.567; 24.300, which was deproclaimed to comply with land claims and diamond prospecting rights. In 1998, SANParks undertook a study of five areas to determine the best replacement locations. A 19 611-hectare tract of land, Wintershoek, was subsequently selected. In 2005, the land was purchased and plans for the re-introduction of game were formed. The first five animals, a group of giraffes, were released into the reserve in June 2006, and a year later it was officially proclaimed.